One of the big sticking points between Iran and the United States during the latest round of talks over Iran’s nuclear program is what Iran will get in exchange for reducing or limiting their nuclear program. Iran has repeatedly called for relief from the sanctions that it have been increasingly imposed and tightened on Iran. Some commentators have stated that Iran would have to compromise before any U.S., E.U. or U.N. concessions on sanctions would be made. I think such a view fails to take into account the myriad of sanctions in place against Iran and the ability of some of them to be removed with general ease.

Even more so than the E.U. and the U.N., the U.S. has imposed numerous sanctions against Iran that include legislation, various regulatory programs, and designations. Some of these sanctions include the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions Accountability and Divestment Act of 2010, Section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, the Iranian Transactions Regulations, the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations, the Iranian Human Right Sanctions Regulations, designations of certain Iranian financial institutions and government instrumentalities under the Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferators Sanctions Regulations and the Global Terrorism Sanction Regulations, etc. This is not a full list of the sanctions targeting Iran, but you get the idea. Some of these are governed by executive discretion and therefore can be revoked by the President at any time.

Therefore, certainly in terms of sanctions concessions, the U.S. can begin peeling back the many layers of sanctions that it has imposed against Iran and yet maintain pressure on Iran. Indeed, it might not be a bad idea for the U.S. to do that to at least set the tone for a compromise to be reached and to get the ball moving forward. It’s not as if a complete dismantling of the sanctions program can or would take place over night and many of the sanctions in place are repetitive and merely sanction the same parties and the same activities over and over again so their removal would not harm the overall sanctions regime that severely. Further, their removal could be seen as a sign of compromise and may compel Iran to also compromise. That said, I think loosening of the sanctions by the E.U. would be much more compelling for Iran. Iran has lived under U.S. sanctions for nearly two decades and they have survived and even thrived at times despite those sanctions. However, it seems that the EU sanctions have impacted Iran more than the U.S. sanctions and as such, it might not necessarily be the U.S. that needs to reduce sanctions after all. Either way, it will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

The author of this blog is Erich Ferrari, an attorney specializing in OFAC matters. If you have any questions please contact him at 202-280-6370 or ferrari@ferrari-legal.com.